Scientists Discover New Strain of Bird Flu in China

科学家在中国发现新禽流感病毒

Scientists in Hong Kong and the United States have detected a new strain of bird flu in China, and they say this variety of the virus could start a new wave of illness. The discovery by researchers from the University of Hong Kong and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, appears in a scientific journal published by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.

The scientists are calling the new bird-flu strain "the Fujian-like virus," because it was first discovered in that southern province of China. They say the Fujian strain is now the dominant variety of bird-flu virus currently found in several Chinese provinces, and that the new poultry disease has already spread to Hong Kong, Laos, Malaysia and Thailand.

香港和美国的科学家在中国发现了一种新的禽流感病毒。他们说，这种变异了的病毒可能带来新一轮疫情。香港大学和美国田纳西州孟菲斯圣祖德儿童研究医院的研究人员的这一发现刊登在美国国家科学院的一份科学杂志上。

科研人员把这种新的禽流感病毒称为“福建型病毒”，因为这种病毒最先是在中国南部福建省发现的。他们说，“福建型禽流感病毒”目前是中国几个省最常见的禽流感病毒，而且这种病毒已经蔓延到了香港、老挝、马来西亚和泰国。